When a firearm is discharged, small amounts of debris and residue are deposited on the surface of the barrel bore. Additionally, the bore may become fouled with dirt or other debris during normal field use, and corrosion may accumulate during storage. Operating a firearm with a dirty barrel can compromise accuracy, safety, and can permanently damage firearm components. Thus, it is imperative that firearms are thoroughly cleaned to maintain consistent and safe operation.
Firearm barrel cleaning devices generally comprise either a rigid rod or a flexible cable, to which cleaning implements are attached. Generally, firearm barrel cleaning often involves first removing the barrel from the receiver and moving the cleaning device (e.g., rod or cable), to which one or more cleaning implements are attached (e.g., brushes or patches) through the barrel. This process is generally repeated, and implements may be changed between cleaning steps, until the barrel is sufficiently clean.
Present cleaning devices have a number of shortfalls such as inconvenient firearm disassembly requirements, ineffective cleaning performance, lack of portability, and/or damaging usage. Rigid rod-type cleaning devices in particular, exhibit many such shortfalls.
First, the barrel of many firearms must be removed before breech-to-nozzle cleaning can be done with a rigid rod-type device. Some individuals choose to clean firearms in a nozzle-to-breech direction which does not require barrel removal; however, this method may undesirably push some debris into the receiver.
Secondly, rigid rod-type devices generally require a bore guide and/or chamber guide to be used to prevent the cleaning device from damaging the firearm. A bore guide is used for nozzle-to-breech cleaning in order to align the rod in the center of the bore, which prevents the rod from flexing and scratching the bore, or from scratching the bore crowning when the rod is removed. A chamber guide is simply used to prevent the cleaning rod from extending into and damaging the chamber.
Thirdly, rigid rod-type devices are not convenient for cleaning during normal field use. As stated above, rods may require a user to carry bore guides and/or chamber guides. Further, rigid rods cannot be disassembled and transported conveniently. Segmented rods exist that have attempted to remedy this shortfall; however, these rods are known to be prone to flexing and breaking during use and require some effort to assemble.
Flexible cable cleaning devices are also utilized instead of rigid rod-type devices. Cable-type devices are flexible, which allows for convenient storage and portability. Further, the flexible nature of cables allows many such systems to be utilized for breech-to-nozzle pull-thru cleaning. Some cable systems allow a user to configure the device to clean different sized-barrels changing cleaning implements. Cable inherently does not work well for pushing cleaning implements through the barrel due to the flexing of the cable when there is resistance in pushing the cleaning implement through the barrel.
Despite improvements, current firearm cleaning devices provide inefficient and/or less than optimal cleaning due to existing cleaning implements. For example, cleaning patches are attached to a cleaning rod or cable by utilizing either a loop or a jag, and a cleaning solvent is typically applied before usage. Cleaning loops comprise a slotted member, in which a cleaning patch is partially inserted. The loop is then pushed or pulled through the bore, during which the cleaning patch removes debris from the bore. One substantial shortfall of cleaning loops is that they provide uneven contact between the patch and the bore, due to the way in which a patch must be folded or otherwise bunched up, and inserted through the loop. Accordingly, loops provide inconsistent cleaning and may require more cleaning passes to properly clean a firearm barrel. Particularly, where a cleaning patch is pushed through with a jag rearward of the patch, the patch will not have an even circular draping over the jag due to the patch being attached by way of threading through the loop.
Jags are also currently utilized in both cable and rod-type systems. Jags may include a sharp tip to pierce a cleaning patch; as such, they are often referred to as spear-point jags. Spear point jags provide more consistent cleaning as compared to loops. Since such jags pierce the center of the patch and the diameter of the jag is dimensioned slightly smaller than the inner diameter of the firearm bore, the front side of the cleaning patch provides a consistent cleaning surface against the bore as the patch evenly drapes over the jag. Spear point jags do not secure the cleaning patch onto the spear point and as such are designed for push-through operation only and the cleaning patch falls off of the jag after it is pushed through the barrel. The cleaning device must then either be pulled back through the barrel, or pushed all the way through the end of the barrel, without the patch and without effecting any cleaning during that stroke. Either operation requires care, as it provides additional opportunity for the barrel to become damaged and is inefficient.
As such, there is a need for a configurable firearm cleaning device that is portable, readily secures cleaning patches thereto, that provides an even draping over jags, that is capable of push and pull cleaning, and breech-to-nozzle cleaning without substantial firearm disassembly.